⚠️ Important: These are general statutory deadlines. Your specific situation may have different time limits. Always confirm with ACAS (0300 123 1100) or a solicitor before assuming a deadline applies to you.
Employment Tribunal Deadlines
Unfair Dismissal Claim
⏱ 3 months minus 1 day from dismissal date — 6 months for dismissals on or after 1 October 2026
You must submit your claim to ACAS Early Conciliation before this deadline. Missing it almost always means you cannot claim, regardless of how strong your case is.
Example: Dismissed on 1 March → deadline is 30 May. Start ACAS Early Conciliation immediately — it pauses the clock.
Wrongful Dismissal Claim
⏱ 3 months minus 1 day from dismissal date — 6 months for dismissals on or after 1 October 2026 (9 November 2026 in Scotland)
Same deadline as unfair dismissal for Employment Tribunal claims. You can also bring a civil court claim within 6 years, but the Tribunal route is faster and free.
Discrimination Claim
⏱ 3 months minus 1 day from the discriminatory act — 6 months for acts on or after 1 October 2026
Covers race, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. For ongoing discrimination, the clock runs from the last act.
Unpaid Wages / Unlawful Deductions
⏱ 3 months minus 1 day from the date of underpayment
Includes holiday pay, notice pay and other unlawful deductions from wages. You can claim up to 2 years of unlawful deductions in a single claim.
Redundancy Pay Claim
⏱ 6 months from dismissal date
You have longer to claim unpaid statutory redundancy pay — 6 months from your dismissal date. After 6 months the Tribunal has discretion; after 12 months you cannot claim at all.
Benefits & Appeals
Universal Credit / PIP Mandatory Reconsideration
⏱ 1 month from the date of the decision letter
You must request a Mandatory Reconsideration before you can appeal to a Tribunal. Do this in writing and keep a copy. Late requests can sometimes be accepted with good reason.
Social Security / Benefits Tribunal Appeal
⏱ 1 month from the Mandatory Reconsideration notice
After receiving your Mandatory Reconsideration notice, you have 1 month to appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. Appeals are free.
Housing
Section 21 — Challenging a No-Fault Eviction
⏱ Act before the court possession date
You do not have to leave when a Section 21 notice expires. Your landlord must get a court order. Use the time to get advice from Shelter (0808 800 4444) and challenge any procedural errors.
Deposit Dispute — Tenancy Deposit Scheme
⏱ Within 3 months of tenancy end
Raise a deposit dispute with the relevant scheme (TDS, DPS or MyDeposits) within 3 months of your tenancy ending. After this you may lose your right to dispute deductions.
Consumer Rights
Right to Reject Faulty Goods
⏱ 30 days from purchase (short-term right)
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have 30 days to reject faulty goods for a full refund. After 30 days you are entitled to a repair or replacement first.
Cooling Off — Online & Distance Purchases
⏱ 14 days from delivery
You have 14 days to cancel most online or distance-sold contracts without giving a reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
Why Legal Deadlines Decide Cases Before the Facts Do
Most people who lose a claim in the UK do not lose it on the evidence. They lose it because they filed late. Time limits in UK law are unusually strict, they vary enormously between different types of claim, and in most cases the clock starts running from the moment something happened to you — not from the day you found out you had a right to complain.
This page collects the deadlines that catch people out, in one place, so you can work out what applies to your situation before it expires.
The Deadlines That Trip People Up Most
Employment tribunal claims run to three months less one day from the date of the act you are complaining about (rising to six months less one day where the act complained of falls on or after 1 October 2026). That means dismissal on 4 June gives a deadline of 3 September. Note it is three calendar months minus a day, not ninety days — the two are not the same, and the difference has ended real claims.
Unpaid wages have their own clock. If you were underpaid, the three months runs from the date the short payment landed in your account, not from the day you resigned. If you were both dismissed and underpaid, you have two separate deadlines running at once.
Benefits decisions carry a one-month window for a Mandatory Reconsideration. You must go through that stage before you can appeal to a tribunal — you cannot skip it.
Subject Access Requests must be answered within one month by the organisation holding your data. If they miss it, that is when the ICO becomes relevant.
Armed Forces Service Complaints work on a different framework entirely, with a six-month limit for discrimination claims and a mandatory internal complaint stage first.
Before You Rely on a Date
Two rules save people repeatedly. First, ACAS Early Conciliation pauses the employment tribunal clock, but you must start it before your deadline, not after. Second, if you are close to a limit, file first and refine later — a claim submitted in time can be amended, while a perfect claim submitted late usually cannot be rescued.
Never calculate a deadline from today's date. Always count forward from the date of the event itself.
Checking Your Own Situation
Different areas of law use completely different escalation routes and time limits, so the right deadline depends on which framework your problem sits in. Our free checkers identify the correct route for your circumstances, and our letter templates help you put a complaint in writing quickly when time is short.
If a deadline is genuinely imminent, contact ACAS on 0300 123 1100 for employment matters, or Citizens Advice on 0800 144 8848, rather than waiting.
General rights guidance, not legal advice.